Quarterback Matt Barkley is on pace to break USC career passing and total offense records and will be the Trojans' first-ever three-time captain this year. KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Matt Barkley talks with his parents, Les and Beverly Barkley, after a rough performance during the Trojans last scrimmage at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Aug. 19. KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

USC quarterback Matt Barkley rides a stationary bike during a break for some of the starters during the Trojans' last scrimmage at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Aug. 19. KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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USC quarterback Matt Barkley celebrates a long pass during warm-ups at the Coliseum. KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

USC quarterback Matt Barkley and wide receiver Marqise Lee head to the buses for the short ride to the Coliseum Aug. 19 for the team's last scrimmage before the regular season. KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Notable: In May, Barkley, his family and 15 of his teammates visited Haiti to build homes and help those in need. He and his family made a similar trip to Nigeria in December 2010.

"Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane."

When the NCAA sanctioned the USC football program in June 2010, most viewed it as a death sentence. Matt Barkley never saw it that way.

While others lamented the Trojans' fate, including no postseason bowl games for two years, Barkley considered Jake Olson, the teenage USC fan who had lost his eyesight to cancer.

"Thinking about Jake, how much perseverance he had with the adversity he had, it's just really humbling," Barkley said that June day. "So I'm looking forward to every game we get."

Barkley always looks forward. He's always positive. He always sees the receiver as half-open. It's the way his parents raised him to be.

One of Les Barkley's basic tenets is that adversity should be embraced as an opportunity to grow and become a better person. One of Bev Barkley's sincerest hopes is that her children appreciate the winding, wondrous journey of life.

The Barkleys of Newport Beach draw daily inspiration from a quote in the book "In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day." Mark Batterson's book is based on a biblical passage, 2 Samuel 23:20. Benaiah chases a lion into a pit. Despite snowy, slippery ground, he catches the lion and kills it.

This season, which begins Saturday, is Matt Barkley's chase-the-lion moment.

Barkley came back to complete a difficult journey – to attend to, as he put it, "unfinished business." The easier path – the one most star quarterbacks would have taken, and the one Barkley almost did – was to leave school for the NFL draft. But Barkley chose the more challenging route. The one filled with monumental expectations for a team ranked in the top three and a player favored to win the Heisman Trophy. The one his parents had prepared him for since the day he was born.

"You don't get Matt Barkley by accident," USC coach Lane Kiffin says. "You don't get Matt Barkley by not having a plan."

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"Stop pointing out problems and become a part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks."

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When Matt Barkley began practicing at USC, as a fresh-out-of-Mater Dei High freshman in spring 2009, then-coach Pete Carroll never had encountered anyone quite like him. Carroll had coached two Heisman-winning quarterbacks during his Trojans tenure, but Barkley was far more advanced. Carroll went so far as to call him an "outlier."

What Carroll probably didn't know was that Barkley had been precocious since he was a toddler. Matt had just turned 2 when his twin brother and sister, Sam and Lainy, were born. Because Les often traveled abroad for work, Bev had to lean on Matt to help with diapers, feedings and other chores.

Although Matt famously predicted as an 8-year-old in a video for his grandmother's birthday that he'd one day be the quarterback at USC, his parents had no way of knowing that at the time. Still, they resolved to teach him lessons he could use in any walk of life.

When Matt was a youth, the Barkleys, who are devout Christians, would play host to Bible studies at their house in Irvine (they moved to Newport Beach in 2004). Bev, who has a background in public relations, would put on a skit in which she'd squeeze toothpaste out of a tube and ask one of the kids to put it back in. The message: Choose your words and actions carefully, because once they're out there, you can't take them back.

"We're certainly cognizant of the peaks and valleys for young people, particularly Matt in his position," Les Barkley says. "We've tried hard to cue him in about topics he might get asked about. It's been a process."

As it became apparent that Matt might have a future as a quarterback, his parents tried to prep him for those spotlight situations. Toward the end of Barkley's sophomore year at Mater Dei, Carroll summoned the family to the USC campus. The Barkleys suspected Carroll would offer Matt a scholarship. His parents peppered him with questions on the car ride up.

"I got it," Matt told them. "I know what to say."

When the scholarship offer came, Matt didn't know what to say. He froze.

"All part of the learning curve," Les Barkley says.

Determined to never lose his poise again, Matt Barkley began practicing how he'd answer questions, sometimes in front of a mirror. Those repetitions would help him again and again.

About a year later, Gatorade named Barkley its national male high school athlete of the year. But it was kept secret from Matt. His parents had to get him to a local steakhouse without tipping him off, so Les came up with a ruse: He said he was having a special dinner for Bev, and Matt had to drive her over. She couldn't tell her son what to do, and it was killing her. When they entered the restaurant, everyone yelled, "Surprise!" Matt barely blinked.

"He walked into that room, went one by one and greeted every single person," Bev Barkley says. "I was blown away because that's literally what I would have said to do. He may have gotten a C on getting the offer from Pete, but he did really well in that moment."

Matt Barkley didn't see Carroll's departure coming in January 2010 or the scale of the sanctions five months later. Yet he handled those stressful events with the same composure, phoning recruits to keep the 2010 class intact and serving as a spokesman for the football team.

"He represented the athletic department and USC as well as any adult could have," Trojans Athletic Director Pat Haden says.

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"Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life."

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Les and Bev Barkley aren't those crazy parents obsessed with making their gifted son rich and famous and living vicariously through him. ESPN Films won't be making a documentary entitled "The Barkley Project."

As that video for his grandmother details, Matt Barkley has wanted to play quarterback for most of his life. Yes, his parents have pushed him. But never in an antagonistic way.

"They didn't try to influence me to go down a certain path," Barkley says. "But along the way, once I knew what I wanted to do, they helped push me towards that."

Those who know the Barkleys say they treat all their children the same. They frequently attend Matt's practices, but you'll never hear Les shouting instructions or criticism from the sideline.

"They get it, in so many different ways," says USC sports information director Tim Tessalone, who has met thousands of parents in his 34 years at the school.

"From the minute he stepped on campus, Matt has been incredibly prepared to be the USC quarterback, not only on the field but off the field. You can credit a lot of that to his upbringing."

Tessalone recently commented to Barkley that he'd make a great boss or employee after his football days are over because he's always on time and responsible. Barkley replied: "Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"

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"Quit holding out. Quit running away. Chase the lion!"

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In Haden's view, Matt Barkley has chosen USC four times: when he was coming out of high school, when he could have transferred after his freshman and sophomore years, and when he postponed NFL millions to return this year.

"So," Haden says, "has there ever been a guy who's more committed to USC than Matt Barkley? I don't think so."

As Barkley told attendees of the John McKay Center dedication last week, "I was probably a Trojan out of the womb." His father played water polo at USC. His brother and sister are sophomores at the school.

The essence of his decision to return might have been just that – that he's a Trojan. Barkley cited unfinished business, but really, this is more about pleasure than business. Barkley loves his school.

Which isn't to say it was an easy call. Barkley labored over it for weeks. Interestingly, his parents, while there to offer support, pulled back. They don't need to prod and prep him anymore. Matt will turn 22 on Sept. 8. "He's on his own," his father says.

In the days leading up to the Dec. 22 decision, Matt Barkley rarely mentioned the money he could earn if he left for the NFL. It wasn't because he didn't want to get paid; we all do. It was because the son of Les and Bev Barkley values family and faith ahead of any material thing.

"I've always said, when Matt gets the money, he's going to give it all away," Kiffin says. "Because that's who he is."

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